Beyond the Veil
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: [The others were back at the house, researching, while they were searching, looking everywhere as they pushed deeper and deeper into the darkness. They were looking for The Veil.] A bit AU. Rated T for violence. R&R? Third genre: Romance! (Jara, Peddie, Amfie, Fabina and Moy)
1. Beyond the Veil

**Why am I starting a new story when I just started a new one a few hours ago? I'm not sure. I've been working on this for like a year now, and I kept forgetting about it. So only four chapters are finished, but I really like the idea.**

**Enjoy!**

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They had disappeared. Eddie, Joy, Jerome, Nina, Alfie and Patricia—none of them could be found. They hadn't been kidnapped. They hadn't been murdered. No one knew what happened. They had been walking around school as normal as usual, and then the next day, they were gone. They dropped off the face of the earth. They were gone. They weren't dead and they weren't missing. They just didn't exist.

Only four people knew what the truth was. Fabian, Mara, Amber and Mick, they knew what had happened.

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"_Keep up, guys." Jerome ground out, trekking after Nina. _

_They were trudging through the woods, no real destination in mind, they were just looking. Looking for something they'd read about. The mystery, the fifth mystery Sibuna had been a part of, had taken a turn. At one point, all of the secrets had been on campus, now they discovered that one of the biggest secrets Frobisher ever had was hidden deep within the woods behind campus. The woods that no one dared to explore. They weren't school property; the forest didn't belong to anyone. But the real reason that no one ever entered the thick trees that so dense you couldn't see more the a few feet in front of you—it was all darkness, even in broad daylight—was because people had disappeared amongst those trees. No one knew how they vanished, but everyone knew that the woods were off limits. But Sibuna never stopped investigating when something was off limits. _

_Behind Jerome and Nina, Eddie, Patricia, Joy and Alfie followed close behind. The others were back at the house, researching, while they were searching, looking everywhere as they pushed deeper and deeper into the darkness. They were looking for _The Veil_. _

_The Veil was believed to be a gloriously bright wall, painted like the rainbow, reaching all the way to the heavens, so the only way past it, was through it. It sounded beautiful. But what those six teens were headed for, they didn't know much about it. Fabian, Mara, Amber and Mick had discovered what they were near. Back at the house the four of them were left to investigate, and they now know why people disappeared in those woods._

_The Veil, the Land of Nightmares, World of Misery, Hell—those were the names of the place they were risking their lives for. They didn't know why, they felt drawn to the misery and hate that awaited them. They didn't know it was there, but they did know that they wanted to be near it. The Veil must have had some kind of force that pulled you to it._

_And then, Nina saw it. She shielded her green eyes with her hand as they adjusted to the new light. It was bright, beautiful, and perfect. The wall shimmered, all the colors of the rainbow floating across it. You could see through it; valleys and sunshine and happiness was behind that wall. The others appeared behind her, and without another thought, they stepped through it._

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**Review?**

_**"Do we still exist? I can't see my face. Or are we just not here? I can't see my face. ****Wake up, wake up! ****This is no hallucination; this is what we have become. This is now what dreams are made of."**_

**-Rachel**


	2. Torture

**Enjoy!**

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Eddie stared ahead, emotionlessly, waiting. He was waiting for the next moment that the same thing would happen. And there it was. Patricia would appear, cold, bloody, and broken on the stone floor, curled up in a pitiful ball as she cried away the pain. The abuser would take a step toward her and though it was silent, she seemed to know he was coming and flinched, expecting to be hit. Then he would kicked her legs and arms so she'd pull them away from her body, and he'd kick her stomach, slap her face and press the heal of his shoe into her throat.

Eddie wanted so much to run forward and push the man off her, hold her close to him and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He couldn't move though. His feet were planted in the corner of the warehouse, less than ten feet away from her. It was like his shoes were nailed to the floor. He was trapped behind a force field that prevented him from saving her.

Patricia let out a choked sob and stared at him with dead eyes. "Eddie…why did you let this happen to me?" she cried, gasping for breath as her throat contracted.

"Patricia…I—" but he could never finish his sentence.

The horrible scene before him would fade to black and it would start all over again, but in a completely different way. It was like he was stuck in his own personal hell. He couldn't get out. There was no escape. He was meant to live in his own hell for all eternity.

There it was again, but this time Patricia was running through a thick wooded area and Eddie was unwillingly following her. She looked behind her as she pushed her way through the bushes and branches. And then she was tackled to the ground, beaten, torn and choked to death. And Eddie had to watch it. Every time it happened, he'd have to watch it. He couldn't look away.

He wished that he was the one in place of her. He was breaking, dying. He couldn't stand watching it happen so many times.

It hadn't dawned on him that this was meant to happen. This happened because of the Veil. You stepped into the mystical place, and it looked peaceful and calm and serene, but once you're there, you want nothing more to leave. He thought this was really happening, he thought that he was really failing at protecting something that meant so much to him.

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**Review? **

_**"It should have been me with the nails through my hands and feet, facing the wrath of God. It should have been me left to pay for my sin, forsaken. But in the blood, I stand here. It should have been me born to die."**_

**-Rachel**


	3. Invisible

**So most of you know that my feelings toward Joy are like, love/hate- this chapter basically allows us to have a little sympathy for her, but I'm also being kinda mean to her, making her disappear. :P**

**Enjoy!**

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Joy pushed her Chemistry textbook into her bag and made her way down the hallway. She looked up in surprise when someone ran into her and didn't even look at her, they just kept walking. She shrugged it off and went on her way. But someone ran into her again, and this time it was Patricia.

Her best friend looked around, as if she had felt the hit on her shoulder, but she just jogged to the end of the hallway where their friends stood. Joy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why hadn't Patricia apologized?

She hopped up to her group of housemates and smiled. "Hey, guys."

Patricia laughed at Alfie, completely ignoring Joy. The others laughed as well when Alfie's magic trick didn't go the way he'd planned.

"Um, guys? It's Joy, can you answer me?" she asked with a nervous chuckle, snapping her fingers to get their attention.

They looked away from Alfie, but not to look at her, they immediately started talking amongst themselves. Amber was giggling as Alfie grumbled about his magic trick; Mick was explaining the school's new sports program to Fabian and Nina; Jerome and Mara were planning when they'd hang out and play another game of chess; and Patricia and Eddie were bickering as usual. And none of them paid any attention to Joy.

"Did I do something wrong? Why aren't you guys talking to me?" Joy spoke a little louder, hoping to turn a head.

No one heard her. Her friends didn't look up. People scattered around the hall didn't turn to look at her. Joy's stomach churned. "Guys, what's wrong?" she called.

She turned to Patricia, her best friend since before she could remember. "Trish, why aren't you talking to me?"

When she didn't receive a reply or an eye roll, and she just slapped Eddie on the arm, Joy whipped around to Fabian.

"Fabes, why isn't anyone talking to me? I'm sorry for whatever I did."

Fabian just smiled at Mick politely, obviously not finding the sports talk interesting but taking interest for his friend.

"Mara," Joy snapped at her other roommate. "What did I do?"

Her heart twisted painfully. Everyone was completely ignoring her. She stepped in between Alfie and Amber. They continued their conversation, not once looking down at her, as if she wasn't there. It was like she was invisible.

Joy gasped. She looked down at her hands. They weren't there anymore, or at least they were invisible, because she could feel them but couldn't see them. And her arms were starting to do the same.

She couldn't believe it. She was disappearing. She was invisible—her worst nightmare.

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**Review?**

_**"Guess I should have seen this coming; should have known it all along. You're a fake; see clear right through you. Left me dying; it's all your fault. These are the memories between us. Let it go, and let live again."**_

**Anyone know this song? :3**

**-Rachel**


	4. Losing

**Enjoy! (Oh, btw, if any of you are thinking of the Vampire Diaries while reading this, keep in mind that I know nothing about the VD. It's not my kind of show. Or is it a book? Idk. Basically, someone had said that they thought of the Vampire Diaries when they saw this and I was just like, whaaaaaaaat? It makes more sense if you hear me saying "what". It's a family thing. Anyway, the "Beyond the Veil" thing was an idea I got from the book "Beyond the Veil" from a werewolf book series.)**

**So you know, I don't own HOA or Gray Wolves. :)**

**Now, go enjoy! **

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Jerome flung the warehouse door open and ran inside. He skidded to a stop on the stone floor when his shimmering blue eyes landed on Poppy and Mara leaning against the wall on the other side of the large room. His heartbeat accelerated and his throat clenched in fear when he saw the dried blood that ran down his little sister's young face.

"She's okay," Mara gasped out with a reassuring nod.

"Oh, god, Mara—" he started as he began to walk toward her.

"Wait, Jerome," her brown eyes grew wide.

That's when Jerome felt something hit the back of his head and he fell to the ground. The hit hadn't been hard enough to knock him out, but it did bring a throbbing headache. He reached up and ran a hand through his dirty-blonde hair, finding the spot that had been hit. He winced.

His eyes snapped toward Mara and Poppy when he heard the sound of a pistol cock. It echoed in the quiet room and rang in Jerome's ears.

Looking just a bit to the right, his eyes landed on Rufus Zeno, aiming a black pistol at his little sister and his girlfriend. His eyes widened even more, if that was even possible, and he made a move to stand up, but Rufus spoke,

"One move, and I shoot." He said simply.

Jerome froze, but instinct had kicked his brain into gear and his hand twitched without giving him a chance to stop it. Rufus pulled the trigger and Mara shrieked. The bullet landed mere inches from her, creating a hole next to her head in the stone wall.

"I told you not to move. That was a warning to show you, I'm not bluffing."

Rufus cocked his pistol once more and stepped closer to Jerome. He pushed him down onto the floor with his foot.

"Please, don't hurt them." Jerome pleaded hoarsely as Rufus stepped on his throat gently but slowly began to add pressure.

Rufus let out an evil laugh. It wasn't like one of those over-exaggerating laughs that villains had in the movies; this was short and low, it gave you a chill and caused your heartbeat to accelerate as you wondered what was going through his twisted brain at that very moment. "Resorting to begging, are we Jerome?"

Without warning, he shot the gun again. Where it had landed, Jerome wasn't sure. He had heard Mara cry out again, and Poppy had been unconscious. Who had been hit? Had either been hit? The questions that swarm in his brain caused his eyes to fill with tears and he felt them leak from his eyes as Rufus shot the gun one more time.

The warehouse was silent.

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**This was quite a sad chapter for me. :( And if you didn't understand the last line; Rufus had fired three times- the first time hit the wall, the second time hit Mara, and the third time hit Poppy. :'(**

**_"Odd one, you're never alone. I'm here and I will reflect you. Both of us basically unattached to anything, unless we're pretending."_  
**

**-Rachel**


	5. Failure

**I swear, I'll try to make these longer...**

**Enjoy!**

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One glance and you could see that it was all over.

Rufus had won.

Sibuna had failed.

More particularly, Nina had failed.

She hadn't stopped him like she promised she would. She had let everyone down. She let her friends down. She let Sarah down. She let herself down.

Every living soul was under the power of Rufus Zeno; the man with eternal life. He had drunk the elixir. In just those few short minutes, he had won, Sibuna had lost, a friend had died, and Rufus had shrouded the earth in darkness. Buildings were decaying, roads were littered with trash, cars broke down, children were starving; everything was dying. The whole world was a ghost town. Many people had only heard of the terrible man, but that didn't mean they didn't fear him. They saw the way the world started to fall under his powerful hand, and they obeyed him, even if they didn't entirely believe that it was true; for a man to live forever.

Nina hated the feeling of failure. It tore her up inside. She could feel her heart clench and stomach churn. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and she started shaking. Her whole body ached and her head pounded. She felt as if she might just fall to her knees on the sidewalk right then and there and just cry. She wanted to cry; she wanted to die.

She had failed.

How could she have failed? The bad guy wasn't supposed to win. In the movies, the bad guy never won. But Nina thought about it for a moment; TV and movies fried your brain, they must brainwash you somehow in a way that was never meant to happen. Maybe, the bad guys could have won, because they were always portrayed stupid at the best times. Maybe, they could have won, and that's why Rufus had won. He wasn't stupid. Rufus Zeno was intelligent. So maybe that's why Nina had failed. He knew how to beat her; he was capable of beating her. So he beat her.

And she failed.

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**Review?**

_**"When you told me you didn't need me anymore, well you know, I nearly broke down and cried. When you told me you didn't need me anymore, well you know, I nearly broke down and died."**_

**Anyone know that song? :)**

**-Rachel**


	6. Clueless

**Disclaimer: No offence to any aliens, I don't know what y'all look like, so I didn't know how else to describe you.**

**Enjoy!**

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Alfie didn't know what do to. He was absolutely lost. This was just like that movie, _Chicken Little_. Alfie was the little chicken that had no idea how to save his world when the sky started to fall; or rather aliens invaded earth. Maybe they had lost one of their babies and Alfie hadn't found it yet?

No, that couldn't be it. These aliens looked nothing like they had in the movie. But Alfie didn't even want to look at them. They were terrifying, but he was forced to. They were tall, skinny, with one eye and they had the most horrifying, luminescent fangs. Oh they were ugly.

Alfie ran across the street, hiding behind a still standing corner of a building that had toppled over the night before. This was a never ending hell, wasn't it?

He poked his head over the bricks. He ducked again. They were everywhere. At time like this, he should be asking himself WWDWD; What Would Doctor Who Do? But it didn't even come to mind. He hurried over the building's rubble and pulled on the door on the side of the neighboring building, which was still standing. When it finally opened with one final tug, he closed it behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his burning brown eyes landed on Jerome and Amber huddled up in the corner of the room next to a pile of bricks.

Alfie ran to them, skidding to a halt on his knees, hidden by the desk behind him. "Thank God, I found you guys. Is she okay?" he asked quickly, noticing that she was limply leaning against Jerome's shoulder.

Jerome didn't say anything and turned away from him, rubbing his forehead with a shaking hand.

"Where are the others?" he asked fearfully.

Alfie watched Jerome's blue eyes tear up slightly. "Gone." He cracked.

Alfie looked around. What was he supposed to do? He was so scared. He wasn't a hero. His friends were dead, the world was rotting, his best friend couldn't look at him and his girlfriend was probably severely injured.

What now?

He heard an explosion and covered his head. Whipping around and glancing at the sudden huge, gaping hole at the front of the building. Aliens. He turned to Jerome. "Come on, mate, we gotta get out of here. I'll take Amber's legs and you—"

"She's gone, Alfie." Jerome whispered, shaking his head slowly. "A brick fell on her head; smashed her skull."

Alfie bit his bottom lip, looking down, but then he remembered the invaders behind him. "Then you and I will—"

"I can't either." He gave him a strained, closed mouth smile. "The bricks landed on my legs; I'm pretty sure they're broken, and it'll take forever to get them off me. Get outta here, bro."

"But, Jerome," he protested.

"Alfie," he shoved him away and his friend fell to the concrete, whipping around at the sound of an alien's gun fire.

But they were gone.

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**Review?**

**So, I was thinking about changing my pen name...what do y'all think? **

**Vote the poll on my profile! I'll be taking it down on the 22nd!**

_**"And I remember that day that saved us. The way you kissed me and the salt, it filled my eyes. We remember our California; the night we slept along the shore and washed away."**_

**-Rachel**


	7. Darkness

**This one's like really violent. I'm so sorry. :(**

**Enjoy?**

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Patricia didn't know what to do. She was surrounded. It was everywhere. It was never ending. It went on for miles. She couldn't see the end.

It wasn't like a horror movie where the actor on the screen would take a step in the dark and be killed; this was just darkness that went on forever. She just trudged around. She never ran into something; she never tripped; she never hurt herself.

It was endless.

And she could hear so many things. She could hear screaming and crying and harsh laughter and shouting and gunshots and explosions, all jumbled together, creating the most horrid sound.

She covered her ears as it got louder and louder, but it seemed to be ringing in her head. And when she looked up, the first sign of light appeared. But it wasn't light, it was a picture. And she wished she hadn't looked up.

Her friends, her family – the world all broken and beaten and burned; her enemies, her fears – high and mighty – she couldn't look at it, but she did.

Why was this happening? Did she deserve it? Watching each of her friends die, she felt herself falling closer and closer to breaking. Joy's death. Eddie's death.

Her heart clenched and tears sprung to her eyes. She didn't even have time to try and hold them back. They rolled down her cheeks and she crumpled to the ground, holding her head. She couldn't look away as the pictures flitted together at a fast speed and then spread out, spinning around her.

First it was Joy; Nina was next; then Mara; Fabian; Mick; Jerome; Alfie; Amber; Eddie; then all over again. But Eddie and Joy were shown longer. And then after what seemed like years of the spinning. Each death took place before her eyes.

Joy was brutally beaten until she couldn't even cry. Her skin was bruised, her face bloody, her hair tangled as she was shaking on the dirty forest floor.

Nina's head was smashed against a brick wall multiple times. She cried out each time as her murderer held her hair tightly.

Mara's skin was slashed with a knife. She was gagged and couldn't make a sound; she couldn't do a thing as she watched the man smile evilly each time the kitchen knife sliced through her flesh.

Fabian was chased into an ally way where he was beaten out of breath; kicked and shoved against a wall, thrown into a metal fence until he just crawled into a tiny puddle of water, tears falling from his eyes as he passed.

Mick was backed toward a cliff and without even realizing what had happened, he tumbled off of it, falling to the shallow river hundreds of feet below.

Jerome was shot. And again, he was shot. Again and again. Over and over.

Alfie was lured into a funhouse, surrounded by happy things that suddenly morphed into evil faces and he ran through the rooms, stopping in the hall of mirrors. He didn't know which way to go, running into the mirrors and one broke as the murderer entered the room and used the broken glass against Alfie.

Amber's hair was pulled out of her head; her eyes were removed from their sockets; her lips were cut; her hands were scraped over bricks until she skin had been scraped right off her bones.

Eddie was told that Patricia was hurt and held in a warehouse where he had gone. He was locked in the room with a large man who beat him and slammed him against a wall; squeezing his neck until he was crying and he stood on his stomach; slapping his back with a chair and stabbing his skin with splintered wood.

Patricia couldn't look away as the darkness took over her and she saw her friends die.

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**That was sad...**

**Okay, review?**

**Vote the poll on my profile if you haven't already!**

**"Waves, make waves. Back down, stop drifting away. Come back, come back, it's all you can take. We'll pour salt in your eyes. ****I said I'd fight back, I didn't say that I'd fight fair."****  
**

**-Rachel**


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